


Oath To The Deep

by JacobThePrecious (LordiTheUltimate)



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Fantasy, Female Protagonist, Incest, Love, Love at First Sight, Magic, Male Protagonist, Politics, Romance, Tags Contain Spoilers, Unrequited Love, War, mermaid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-26
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-24 10:42:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13809516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordiTheUltimate/pseuds/JacobThePrecious
Summary: Sailing the seven seas has always been the passion of Julien Prescott. However, during a sail with his best friend, Charles Pompidou in the vast Pacific Ocean, a horrible boating accident occurs, and Julien is set adrift into the deep only to be saved and brought to an unmarked by a strange but beautiful woman named Nimue. While Julien struggles to find a way back home, he discovers a whole new world hidden at the bottom of the ocean, courtesy of Nimue. But this fantastic discovery comes with a catch - involvement in a brewing conflict between two kingdoms.





	Oath To The Deep

**Author's Note:**

> Original work, hot damn.

 

“A’ right lads. Ye ready for an adventure?” Mr. Pompidou pointed at the young men across from him and faked a deep laughter, like something out of a pirate film. Julien and Charles looked at each other, puzzled looks written on their faces. They watched in silence as Mr. Pompidou walked over to the helm with exaggerated steps before swinging an arm around the shoulder of Charles, captain of the ship and his only son. 

“Dad, Christ, stop please.” Charles rolled his eyes and tightened his grip on the wheel. Steering the boat was basically second nature to him, with guidance from his dad over the years. Julien stalled a bit before he stepped back and headed towards the reeling, looking back at the father and son.

This summer had been a blessing with sweltering day after sweltering day and barely any rain to speak of. This had been their third trip in the deep blue which was something Julien could only appreciate. After the slave market, that was this last semester, he really needed a breather to let loose and relax for once and he was sure that Charles felt the same way too.

“I’m playing with you, son. You’re doing great as always.” Mr. Pompidou patted his son on the shoulder before laughing again, this time sincerely. He turned around and walked a few steps behind Charles, kneeling right before the cooler, likely getting a beer for himself and Charles and a soda for Julien. Meanwhile, Charles stood and stared deeply into the horizon with this concentrated look on his face. If one looked apart from his very casual attire, he really did have an air of professionalism and caution surrounding him. An air that a lot of people would confide in a heartbeat.

Julien had none of those things; he and Charles had been friends since middle school and had stayed in each other’s company since then. A lot of people mistook them as brothers, seeing how they looked very alike; everything from the same height to the same hair color and facial structure. That said, their personalities couldn’t be any more different. Julien had never taken the time to put his personality into words but he was certain that Charles was everything, he was not; ambitious, confident and charismatic just to name a few.

His father was a jolly and enjoyable fellow too, so it was safe to assume that was where all the good genes came from. Julien wouldn’t mind actually being related to the Pompidous if he could get a few more good traits to his otherwise apathetic and mundane character.

With the beer in his hand, Mr. Pompidou took over the ship and Charles stepped away from the helm with a beer in one hand and a cherry soda in the other, closing the distance between himself and Julien.

 “Julien, catch!” he said, and the soda went flying towards the brunette after an underhand throw. He managed to catch the soda but refrained from opening it right away. Instead, he put it down near his feet and leaned over the railing, looking over the ocean. The skies began drifting about, creating blurry reflections in the water as the sun hung low in the western horizon. In the water, shapes of what appeared to be dolphins glided through the waves without a care in the world.

“Oh shit. Forgot about the shaking soda thing. Whoops.” Charles said with a half-hearted shrug, returning Julien to reality. He could have swatted him, but Charles was by all accounts just a jock used to throw protein shakes at his gym buddies; no reason to get upset over that.

Instead, Julien returned to look at the ocean scenery, taking note of how the sunset illuminated the afternoon sky in a soothing orange light.

“Dad says, we’re in uncharted territory. This is the farthest that we have gone. It’s a damn shame because we already got school next week.” Charles said, scratching the back of his head. The sheer amount of gel, he had put in his quiff haircut protected his perfectly styled hair from the wind, unlike Julien’s which just bristled out to all sides.

“I know the feeling, man. When would you like to go back.” He asked as he grabbed his soda and opened it, taking a small sip from the can.

“I don’t know. Never?”

The two young men laughed a little at that. Having a year to do whatever one liked, free of the struggles of school and the pressure of society, sounded like a dream, too good to be true.

“Hm, the boom seems to out of sync. Could you take a look at it?” Mr. Pompidou asked from the stem and Julien silently obliged. He figured it was his turn to do something on this boat instead of lazing around, so he removed himself from Charles’ side and headed towards the mast. Julien didn’t consider himself nearly as experienced with sailing as Charles or his father but he had been with them long enough to do the most basic of ship adjustments. When it came to the boom of the ship, he had seen both Charles and his father do this, a million times so it had become second nature to him if anything. He loosened the knotted ropes before putting his soda down. Julien could feel the chilly wind brush against his back while he bent over. The wind was getting stronger it seemed, so he tied the ropes into a loose knot before grabbing his soda and preparing to head back to Charles.

“Julien, look out!” Mr. Pompidou suddenly called out to him and before he could properly comprehend the situation, Julien saw the boom swing his way at record speed and he went flying overboard. In the blink of an eye, he landed face first in the water, his body sinking closer to the bottom before it occurred to him what had happened and he fought like a wild animal, swimming to the surface, snapping for breath. When he finally got a hold of his surroundings, his heart sank to his feet as he saw the boat already miles away in the distance with Charles and Mr. Pompidou, calling his name.

“Hey, turn around!” Julien screamed with as much power as his body allowed to him to. With his strength rapidly vanishing as the icy cold got to him, he tried again, screaming for the boat to return.

But the Juliette was already drifting away into the horizon. And so was his strength…

Unable to keep himself afloat for much longer, he began submerging into the deep. Julien wondered if this was what dying felt like, fading into the deep. He stared upwards at the surface with the sun barely breaking through the water as he sunk deeper into the ocean. Fish began to surround him, the more my will to struggle dwindled and the heavy weight of regret crushing him.

Memories and images from his short life flashed before his eyes and his perception of reality slowly began to crumble. He could cry; in fact, he really felt like it, but he was too tired to do so; Julien Prescott, dead at age 20 by drowning. How tragic of an end to such a young life. Just imagine the headlines. What would his family say? His mother? Honestly, he hadn’t had much contact with his family since he started in college but he was on fair terms with them.

However, his last thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a large shadow in the shape of a fish looming over him. The dwindling light from the surface mixed with fatigue made it difficult for him to make out what type of fish it was. It was too small to be a dolphin and if it was a shark, it would most likely have eaten him by now. Instead, this animal came closer to him by the looks of it but in an oddly slow manner. Amazing that he actually had the capacity to think at a time like this. Julien blinked slowly and suddenly the shadow was gone, like a mirage. With whatever strength he had left, he tried to make sense of the image before him but it became increasingly difficult and the freezing water around him didn’t help. The cold had penetrated his clothes and skin, feeling like piercing needles of ice.

He didn’t know how long it had been since he fell into the water. He didn’t know how long it had been before he struggled to stay alive, only to feel his energy slip away like sand between fingers. He wanted to survive; He wanted to live! But as he closed my eyes with the cold seeping through his bones, a realization dawned upon him; Some people just didn’t have the body to act out on their survival instinct and before he lost consciousness, Julien couldn’t help but feel that he was one of them.

He feared death. He was afraid; he feared that he would never return home to the people most precious to him. He feared that this vast ocean would be his grave and as he faded into the darkness, he soon began to believe that it would.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Julien found himself embraced in something soft when he finally came to. His eyes slowly opened themselves, and after his vision adjusted to the light, he came to realize that he was in some sort of hut. The walls were made of straws and wood and the roof was crafted with palm leaves. The only form for door present was some sort of old rug. Strange, it was since the bed that Julien found was in looked like something you could find in every middle-class household, although dirty from the ground.

Part of him initially thought this was purgatory. He noticed how peaceful everything was; it almost felt unreal. His senses of being were still numb as if he wasn’t even in his own body anymore. Or at least, it would have felt like that if it had not been for the unbearable pounding in his head. The memories came flooding to him, little by little; he was hit in the back of the head by the boom of the boat. 

Outside, the birds were chirping carefreely and sun streaks shined through the open, casting more light in the already bright hut. Juliette sat up on the bed, looking out the window to get even a slight idea of where he was but still, he got nothing. Instead, the brunette saw the ocean. The vast blue deep. The place where he could potentially die. If he wasn’t dead already.

Sudden movements of the rug alerted him. His senses were still sharp although his body felt like lead. The “door” opened, slowly but surely. In stepped an unfamiliar face. A young woman entered the hut with a batch of bamboo and leaves under her arm. She was a petite frame covered in a cloak and a straw-hat that obscured her hair. Her wide eyes were very brightly pink, and they gleamed in excitement as she lay eyes on him. For the sake of his own sanity, Julien decided to rule it off either as contact lenses or pink eye. She had a fair complexion, very delicate features, and well-rounded lips, but part of it was likely caused by that big smile of hers. By all accounts, she was pretty, very pretty indeed, but she looked like she just escaped an anime convention with those freakishly pink eyes.

“Oh, greetings! I guess you’re alive and squirmin’. Hungry?” she asked, flashing an even bigger smile at Julien. From the get-go, he noticed hints of an accent, with strange vowels and enunciations, Lord knew where it came from. It was hard to explain what exactly it was, but it sounded African of some sorts. Her voice was light and soft with a bubbly edge. It held a certain warmth over it that made him calm down somewhat. Although she appeared friendly, Julien couldn’t say that he was fully comfortable in her presence, however.

“Tell me, where am I? And how did I get here?”

“You were floating in the water, so I brought you here.” The woman said as a matter of fact.

She walked over the window before snapping the bamboo in half with such efficiency. She fetched some thread and proceeded to create bars out of the pieces. After a short while, she had managed to create a full window, using the palm leaves as curtains. The woman used some thread to tie the bars to the open window before facing him with a bright smile.

“As of where you are… it’s a bit hard to say, really. I’m not sure of it either, heheheh” she laughed with a nervous edge.

Julien’s heart sank as worrying thoughts began entering his head, only worsening the aching. He took a quick glance at the woman before him, hoping her appearance would at least give something away. He could simply rule her off as a native of the island but her pale skin suggested otherwise. She could also be a drifter but her clean appearance suggested that she had not been on the island for long or was a washing witch.

“Purgatory?” He finally said, his voice hoarse.

One could argue, that was a tad too melodramatic, but he had come to somewhat trust the supernatural, during those moments where he fought with all my might to keep myself afloat. During those moments, he had eerily strange visions. They felt so real, almost as if his body and soul searched towards the light.

“Purgatory? What’s that?” the woman asked, still smiling and completely oblivious to the dark undertones.

“Just a place where dead people go.” He shook his head. Julien had no energy to suddenly playschool teacher, so he prayed that his half-assed explanation was enough. He hadn’t eaten since the Juliette set sail and although, he had no idea, how long it had been since he washed up here, let alone how long, he had been unconscious. Still, his appetite was at an alarming low and yet, the promise of food compelled me more than usual.

“Oh really? Funny because we’re not dead!” The woman suddenly laughed out loud, taking him out of his thoughts. Julien was pretty sure that his expression was locked on an unappealing frown as he looked at her. The women picked up a few bamboo scraps, oblivious to his reaction. Maybe she was homeschooled.

She disappeared out the door again before coming back shortly with some fruits and a bottle filled with water. She placed them in his lap with a smile as she inelegantly threw herself to the floor where she sat and stared at him with great curiosity.  Weary, Julien opened the bottle and sniffed it out of general skepticism, before confirming that it was coconut milk. He looked at the vibrantly colored fruit before taking a bite. They were so incredibly sweet, but he didn’t mind. In fact, they tasted delicious!

 “There’s more of where it came from. We’re the only two folks here after all.” The woman said cheerfully. She suddenly grabbed the straw-hat and removed it from the top of her head to wipe off sweat. In the meanwhile, light blue locks of hair fell to her lower body. She ran a hair through it before brushing a few wild strains behind her ear.

That hair dye looked like something out of this world! No roots or anything. Back home, Kimmie, the only woman whom Julien felt comfortable around, always dyed her hair every other week but after a few days, roots would show. But with this strange lady, it almost looked like it was natural.

Julien slowly began to regret his attitude and concentrated on bettering himself somewhat. After all, this woman only tried to help him. He should try to be grateful. Leaning back against the wall, he took a deep breath before he popped another question.

“Could you tell me, who you are?”

He figured it was safe enough to ask that as the woman seemed to be a kind albeit odd kind of person. She looked at him and blinked for a couple of seconds, almost as if she was thinking about what to say. All Julien ever asked of her, was her name. What was the big deal?

“Nimue.” She finally said although her tone had greatly changed into caution. The question had unnerved the woman and he could regret being too outwardly aloof but what was a man to do in a situation like his? He needed answers, dammit! He couldn’t just roll over and wait for answers to be thrown his way. Life had taught him, that everything had to be worked for. Speaking of, what kind of a name was ‘Nimue’? Julien was thoroughly convinced that this woman was either an extreme cosplayer or suffered from 8th-grade syndrome.

 “Ok. I’m Julien and thanks for helping me. Uhm…” he trailed off. Right now, he’d love for nothing more than to return home but something within him made me retract my zealousness. That said, he was sure that Charles was dead worried, and he needed to know that everything was all right. For now. The least, Julien could do was to let him know the truth. He cleared my throat, garnering the attention of Nimue.

“Do you have a telephone, that I can use?” He asked, almost certain that he left his cellphone on the boat before he got knocked overboard.

“What is a… telephone?” Nimue asked, her eyes growing wide. She crawled closer to him, resting her hands on the bedframe.

“Uhhh, a thing you use to communicate with?”

“Ooooh, splendid. Like those scrolls in a bottle!”

“Sure,” Julien said, letting Nimue play with her own amusement. But in all seriousness, what the hell was up with this girl? Messages in a bottle? Did he get caught in a time portal and kicked back to the 1800s or was he having a terrifically abstract fever dream?

Or maybe, he had washed up on some island belonging to a secluded civilization. But that didn’t make sense in the long run because according to Nimue, they were the only people here and secondly, her English. It was all right even if it was drenched in an unspecified accent. Julien was certain that a secluded civilization would not know how to speak English that well.

Or maybe she was Amish? But that hair dye though…

Suddenly she stood up and bolted out of the hut. Without a single word. Julien couldn’t help but shake his head over her strange nature as he decided to get out of bed. He pushed the door aside and looked around, blocking the sun’s streak from his eyes. He found himself on a beach with the whitest sand that he had ever seen in his life, complete with white rocks. The water occasionally splashed against their smooth surface. To his left was the ocean, all right; vast and blue with nothing but the deep blue on the horizon. To his right was a hill-like surface that bordered a luscious green forest with tall trees. He looked up and saw a cliff dressed in green located deep in the wilderness. Still, it looked like the island itself was fairly big as the cliff seemed fairly small from a distance yet far enough to still be towering over the whole forest.

In the distance, he heard the sound of feet rapidly hitting the sand. Julien looked ahead and saw Nimue frantically running across the beach. He had to bite his lip in order to not burst out laughing over her run cycle. It looked very unnatural like a goose that suddenly got human legs and didn’t know how to use them. After a short while, she literally fell to her knees in front of him, panting like she just performed a marathon. In her hand was a green bottle. When she finally got her breath, she graciously handed him the bottle. It was a typical glass bottle, plugged with a cork.

“Could you read this for me?” she asked with the innocence of ten children. Interesting that she knew how to speak English fluently but apparently not how to read it. Regardless, Julien just shrugged his shoulders and opened the bottle, letting the piece of paper fall into the palm of his hand.  He unrolled it and began to read; the writing was in a completely different language, but he had taken enough Spanish classes to get the gist of it.

Next to the letter was a crumpled picture of a man with a group of people, ranging in age. Among them was a dog, a British bulldog.

“It’s a love letter to his family,” Julien said and hoped for the best. Nimue crept closer to him and stared intently at the picture. He saw small specks of freckles across her face and a strong scent of flowers emanated from her and it was hard for him to not bury his face in her neck and just sniff. His heart raced behind his chest and he felt his knees liquify. He hated to admit it, but she was drop-dead gorgeous.

“And what is that thing?” she asked, pointing at the bulldog.

“Th-the dog?”

“Dog… do they have a dog where you come from?” She looked at him, her eyes still wide.

“Uhm yes, it’s pretty common. There are like many dogs”

“Wow… I’d like to see a dog one day.”

“I’m... sure you will.” He didn’t know how valid of a promise that was or why he promised her something like that. He didn’t even know if he would ever get off this island. But for now, and for the sake of his own sanity, he figured he couldn’t afford to be so damn negative, no matter how he wanted to give up and cry. He saw Nimue’s smile slowly transforming into a wide grin and it felt like the best thing Julien had seen all day. In response, he gave her meek smile as she took the picture and stared deeply at the bulldog, still smiling.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

 

Julien didn’t know how long he had stayed on the island, but he found himself getting more used to the strangeness that was Nimue, little by little. Common day… well, things came across as completely alien to her, and she seemed mind blown by everything he mentioned to her. It was like introducing modern technology to someone from the 1600s hundred, and not get burned at the stake for it. He liked to believe that she had lived an extremely sheltered life, a life that only existed fairy tales. For Julien, Nimue was the real-life Rapunzel except that her tower was a remote island located somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

It made him wonder what would happen to her when he eventually returned back home. If he ever came home. Maybe Charles and Mr. Pompidou were heading towards this island right now.


End file.
